Lead: Quite unexpectedly this trip started at a rather busy bus station and later came to the lake that is not comparable to the Veluwemeer. Especially in winter you will discover that the true also has its charms!

Pretty quickly we entered the bus station that we walked from the bus. Temperatures just above freezing meant almost always putting on gloves, so that was done. Beyond the supermarket, a path was visible in the distance along a small lake that only Francisco erase can be found. On this trip he was the man with the route book with explanations in one hand, and an empty other hand waving down his arm. The other hiker who called himself Paul was known in this area, but only from the villages and not from the nature trail that we also refer to as LAW. Only Francisco knew the way, which was quite logical with a booklet with written text from Amsterdam to Maastricht. He regularly looked at the topocards depicted as a page in the book. Relieved he then breathed when he found the path depicted with a red line and that we had to follow. After the clear lake we knew from the bus station that Francisco had told about the largest puddle that was still visible. The Veluwe Lake was not there, because despite the temperature, the large lake was dark blue and wavy as bath water. Strangely enough, in the distance there were owner-occupied houses, some of which were almost ready to build. When we were over the lake after the first dike, the owner-occupied houses did not lack cars but the residents in the houses with large windows. Apart from the winter there were also no people on the puddle that ran further, because no boat lay tight in the sharp wind. The conclusion that the residents were on vacation or had a house somewhere else in their possession gave me peace of mind.

Francisco didn't seem like a burglar to me, but he had the legs for it. Then he'd be a burglar and share with me and the others the stolen loot in the middle of the night. At the roof that was built in light brown wood, without roof tiles, my thoughts went to the burglar scenario which gave me a strong sense of power. If this house were to be robbed without Daddy, Mom and the kids, just forcing the door lock would be enough. But in our frog country has more to offer than poverty, so my own rental apartment and personal furniture were enough to own. After the slight bend in which we passed the huge front gardens, I was able to see the piles with wires. They were very similar to the German variants with their oblique position in the verge, and with antennas at the highest point. On this narrow single carriageway you saw them hidden first on the left and later on on the right. It didn't seem like a telephone or TV wire, but something that only an electrician in maintenance clothing and a maintenance van could explain to me. And there wasn't, so it would only be clarified by looking it up at home through the worldwideweb.

After a rest of eating apples and throwing away in the large lake with Reeuwijk as base in the distance we followed the Kippepad which would be a detour for hikers. If necessary, it could be used for cows, because no chicken would go on this narrow path. For the large part there were stepped shells and this became wet clay, which many farmers with cows that had to be moved would also experience. Then they would not have had an eye for the many geese and water parakeets that flutted back from the wavy water to their breeding ground. After this “toktokpad” the next hamlet I had seen on the topomap was visible in the distance. But first we had to pass two bicycle bridges that the hamlet did not correctly mention: “Three bridges”. I did not doubt that it could be a stopping place, although the Nijmegen hiking day would not pass this intimate hamlet.

Relaxing in the cafeteria of the sports hall which had quite dark and as floor huge square tiles, the bartender walked in. “Do you have any apple pie?” I asked. “No, that not but a stuffed cake with a note on it” was the bartender's answer. I was shocked for a moment, because that this was not a café immediately became clear. “Oh, yeah, well, I'll agree, and the money will come later.” The two women sat relaxed side by side, almost whispering to each other. The female conversation could not be followed for men's ears, but men were more thinking ahead. The hiking book was then viewed occasionally, but also passed on to the one who had not viewed it yet. A little later the bartender came up with five white saucers with white cups that were almost filled with coffee without sugar. You had to take it yourself from the glass on the table. Sugar bags were, and we all slipped the substance into the black coffee. That it would taste good, after spinning with the little spoon of the bartender!

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